Grain-weigher.



No. 747,258. PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903. B. M. STEELE.

GRAIN WEIGHER.

APPLIOA'IION FILED MAR. 27. 1902.

R0 MODEL. 8 SHEETS-SHEBT 1.

Tu: NORRIS "ETERS co. PHOTO-LKTHK}. WASWNGTON u c N0. 74?;258. PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903. B. M. STEELE.

GRAIN WEIGHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903.

B. M. STEELE.

GRAIN WEIGHBR.

APPLIOATIQN FILED MAR. 2'1, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEBT 3.

no MODEL.

I///IIIIIVIII UNITED STATES.

BENJAMIN M. STEELE,

Patented December 15, 1903.

OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN-WEIGHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,258, dated December 15, 1903.

Application filed March 27, 1902.

To all whom, it may concern."

Be itknown that I, BENJAMIN M. STEELE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-l/veighers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has reference to grainweighers, and especially to that class in which grain is delivered from the spout of an elevator tube or trunk into a hopper suspended beneath the spout upon the frame of a scalebeam in such a manner that when a predetermined amount of grain is delivered to the box or hopper it will descend a short distance and in so doing will bring into action the mechanism whereby the mouth of the elevator-spout is closed and whereby the bottom ofthe hopper is automatically opened in order to discharge the grain from the hopper, the discharge of the grain from the hopper permitting the weight of the scale-beam to restore the parts to such position that a fresh supply of grain will be delivered from the elevator-spout to the hopper.

The object which I have in view is to improve and simplify the construction and arrangement of the devices which control the opening and closing of the valve parts or gates of the spout and hopper.

A further object of the invention consists in constructing the head and bottom of the elevator spout or spouts of sheet metal and to the means for securely fastening the sheetmetal parts of the device.

A further object of the invention is in locating the tally-box down low on the elevator-spouts between their ends and drive the same through bevel-gearing from the tripshaft to a vertical shaft and worm-gearing connected with operating parts of the tallying device.

The invention consists in the various features of improvement hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out by claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a complete elevator spout, head, and bottom,

Serial No. 100,338. (No model.)

showing the weigher bucket or hopper at normal position suspended in counterpoise beneath the outlet-spout of the elevator. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the opposite side of the construction. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View and elevation, enlarged, of parts of my weigher. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of the manner of securing the ends of the elevatorspouts in the head and bottom of the elevator. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 show enlarged detail, sectional, and viewin elevation of clutch parts onthe trip-shaft and a scale-lever coacting therewith. Fig. 12 is a plan of the cranks used for opening and clos ing simultaneously the gate of the spout and hopper, the same being attached to the tripshaft. Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional detail illustrating a means for securing the sheet-metal parts of the elevator and component parts. Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the worm-gearing I employ for actuating the tallying device. Figs. 15 and l6show in detail the manner of attaching the opposite sections forming the head and bottom of the elevator.

In the figures like numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout.

1 indicates elevator-tubes having their ends fastened to a head 2 and a bottom 3, the same being of sheet metal and bent into proper form, as seen in the figures. The head 2 comprises three pieces, of which one is a removable crown 4, detachably connected to the parts of the head by overlapping portions of the same, as at 5, (shown in Fig. 3,) and is arranged to have the swelled portion 6 of the head-section overlap the forward end of the crown, as shown. The head 2 is further provided with an outlet-spout, through which grain escapes as it is raised in the elevatortubes. It is necessary when making the head and bottom of sheet metal,as well as the tubes, to provide for securely holding the sections together on account of the lightness of the material and yet make a smooth joint on the inner parts of the device. To do this, I corrugate the tubular portions of the head and bottom 2 and 3 at 8 and swage the upper and lower ends of the tubes 1 therein, as shown, and the said tubes are additionally and securely fastened to the head and bottom by countersinking the parts at 9 and employing a countersunk washer 10 and a bolt or pin 11. This means is employed throughout the machine for fastening the sheet-metal parts together, as will be further described, enabling me to provide smooth surfaces within the walls of the tubes and other parts of the device. The bottom 3 is formed of three parts, similar to the head 2, having a detachable crown-section 12 for ready access to the lower portion of the elevator, and the same has overlapping portions at 5 similar to the headsection, and 13 indicates a receiving hopper or chute formed in the bottom portion 3, as shown in Fig. 3.

14 indicates the usual upper sprocket for the elevator-chain supported on cross-spindle 15, journaled in opposite sides of the head. The same is constantly driven by suitable means and carries on one end thereof a chainpinion 16, which rotates with the spindle.

14 is the usual lower sprocket for the conveyer-chain, supported on one end of a short spindle 15 journaled in the bottom 3.

Beneath the head 2 and transversely arranged between the elevator-tubes is a tripshaft 17, arranged to be intermittingly actuated. The same is journaled in bearings 18, integral with straps 19, secured to the elevator-tubes in manner shown. On one end of the trip-shaft is loosely carried a sprocketwheel 20, continuously rotated by a drivechain 21 passing over the sprocket and pinion 16. (See Fig. 1.) The hub of the sprocket is provided with one or more depressions or slots 22 for a purpose to be described.

Secured on the trip-shaft 17 in juxtaposition to the sprocket-wheel is a flanged disk 23, having the tubular extensions 24 and 25, the extension 24 forming a bearing for the disk and the extension 25 provided for carrying a spring-held slidably-arranged pin 26, forming part of a clutch. The body of the disk and flanges thereof are slotted or perforated in line with the tubular extension 25 to provide for engaging a depression 27 of the pin for sliding it inwardly during the rotation of the disk and to permit thesame to be thrust outwardly and engage a coincident slot in the hub when it is desired to actuate the tripshaft. The pin 26 is provided with studs 28, protruding through slots 29 in opposite sides of the walls of the tube 25, to limit the movement of the pin, and 30 is a coil-spring carried around the pin bearing against the bearing 18 and the studs 28 for forcing the pin outwardly.

31 is a Weigher bucket or hopper hung beneath the outlet-spout upon the outer ends of the bifurcated arms 32 of a scale-beam or lever 33,which is fulcru med at points 34 in the usual manner and to ears 35, integral with the spout of the head-section. A valve 36, curved to conform to the bucket or hopper sides, is sustained by hangers 37 at pivots 38 and serves to close the bottom of the bucket.

39 is a valve or gate attached to hangers 40, which are pivoted at 41 on the outside of the elevator-head 2 and serves at intervals to close the exit-spout for the grain. The means employed for actuaing the gate 39, as well as the valve 36, closing the bottom of the hopper, will now be described.

42 is a short crank attached at one end to the end of the trip-shaft opposite to the sprocket 20, and the same has an elbow 43 and a return lever or arm 44. To the elbow is suitably connected or attached the lower end of a pitman or rod 45, the upper end of which passes through an offset of the hanger 40, and 46 is an adjustable casting carried on the rod 45, with a tapered extension 47 arranged to engagea V-shaped depression in the hanger 40, whereby when the pitman or rod is raised or lowered through the action of the trip-shaft the gate 39, closing the opening of the spout, will be correspondingly moved, which will close or open the spout, as is apparent.

To the free end of the crank-arm 44 is attached a pitman 48, the opposite end of which is suitably attached to a hanger 37 of the hopper and is employed for opening or closing the bottom of the hopper during the movement of the trip-shaft in a manner similar to the action which takes place for closing or opening the gate 39 of the spout.

The scale-lever 33 combines with it features which I think are new and novel with myself, and that is a clutch part attached to or formed on the lever engaging a clutch part on the trip-shaft, which when the hopper overbalances the lever will release parts for throwing into motion the trip-shaft for actuating the gate of the spout and valve of the hopper, and when the lever overbalances the hopper will engage such clutch parts on the trip-shaft for bringing the tripshaft to'a standstill during the filling of the hopper.

The scale-lever is formed with a vertical portion 49 and the graduated scale-beam portion 50, on which is slidably arranged a suitable weight 51.

52 is a counterbalancingweight slidable on an extension 53 from the portion 49, by means of which the weighing devices may be perfectly adjusted.

Extending down from the beam is a web portion 54, having a concave clutch-face 55, corresponding to the contour of the flanged disk, over which it rides and upon which it rests when in its normal position, the beam having no other rest than this, and the same has the tapered portion 56 and the offset 57 for a purpose to be described. The parts being in the position shown in the drawings, grain is being deposited in the hopper from the chute through the action of a conveyor traveling up and down in the tubes. The scale-lever is resting on the flanged disk supported by the trip-shaft and is lying in the slot 27 in the pin (see Fig. 8) which has disengaged itself from the slot in the hub of the sprocket, permitting the sprocket to be rotated independently of the tripping-shaft. As soon as the hopper overbalances the scalelever it will pull the outer end of the lever down and raise the web portion 5; from its rest and out of the slot 27 in the sliding pin 26, releasing the same, which is instantly forced outwardly by the spring 30 and is caused to engage with a coinciding slot in the hub of the sprocket-wheel, and the crank arms or levers are in turn moved by the action of the trip-shaft, which is caused to be rotated by the movement just described and open the valveon the hopper and close the gate on the spout, and during the rotation of the trip-shaft and the releasing of the grain from the hopper the scale-lever drops back into its normal position at rest on the tripshaft, and as the flanged disk is rotated the slot of the pin is brought into line with the tapered portion 56 of the portion 54, which wedges the pin inwardly and from the perforation in the hub of the sprocket-wheel until the pin engages with the offset 57 of the portion 54, when the shaft will stand at rest during the refilling of the hopper, the oifset being provided to prevent the pin 26 slipping past the web, and the slot thereof protrudes slightly beyond the fiange,as shown in Fig. 5, as the disk is rotated to permit the wedge to enter the same as the pin is moved into position by the rotation of the trip-shaft. These features are seen in Figs. 5, 8, 9, and 11, respectively.

56 indicates a tally-box of the well-known kind, which I have arranged to be supported or attached in the manner shown in Fig. 13 to the elevator-tubes. The primary spindle of the tallying device is referred to as 57, on which is carried a worm-wheel 58. 59 is a vertical shaft jonrnaled at its upper end in a bracket 60,suspended from the casting l9, and at its lower end in a bracket 61, secured to the rear of the tally-box. The said shaft is driven by means of the bevel-gearing 62 and 63, carried by the shaft 59 and the tripshaft, respectively, and upon the lower end of the vertical shaft is carried a half-worm 64, (see Fig. 14,) which meshes with a worm- Wheel 58 on the spindle 57 By this means I not only place the tally-box in aconvenient place on the machine of easy access, but by the gearing employed on the lower end of shaft 59 and the bevel-gearing at the upper end thereof can operate the tally-box from the trip-shaft and can very easily remove and replace the tally-box Without disturbing component parts of the device, the half-worm permitting the worm of the tally-box to be slipped out of mesh therewith and be very easily replaced.

I am aware that various changes may be made in the arrangement of parts herein and to the construction shown, also that details may be resorted to,without affecti ng the prin ciple of invention herein.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a weigher, the combination of a spout having a gate, a hopper havinga valve, atripshaft provided with operating connections with the spout-gate and valve of the hopper, clutch parts of the trip-shaft, one loose and the other movable in a fixed member on said shaft, a scale-lever normally resting on the member with means for intermittingly disengaging the clutch parts, for the purpose described.

2. In a weigher, the combination of a spout having a gate, a hopper having a valve, a trip-shaft, provided with operating connections joined to the spout-gale and valve of the hopper, a scale-lever having a clutch-shipping member, a fixed rigid member attached to and revolving with said shaft, forming a rest for the scale-lever, a slidable clutch part within the member intermittingly engaged by the shipping memberof the lever, for controlling the movements of the trip-shaft, substantially as described.

3. In a Weigher of the class described, the combination, with an outlet-spout having a control-gate and a counterbalanced weigherbucket having a valved bottom, mechanism for controlling the movements of the gate and valve aforesaid, comprising a trip-shaft, levers having an operative connection with one end of said shaft and with the valve and gate of the bucket and spout, a continuouslyrotated sprocket upon the opposite end of the shaft, a flanged member carried in juxtaposition to the sprocket with a clutch part yieldingly held in engagement with parts of the sprocket, a scale-lever movable above the flanged member and having a depending integral part conforming to the surface of the flanged member for intermittingly disengaging the clutch part from the sprocket, substantially as described.

4. In combination with weighing devices herein described,a trip-shaft, a loose sprocket continuously driven carried thereby having one or more circumferentially-arranged slots in its body, a member fixed to the shaft having a flanged body in juxtaposition to said sprocket, a movable clutch part of said member, arranged to engage a coincident slot of the sprocket, a swinging arm or lever rising and fallingin the path of the clutch part for intermittingly disengaging the same from the sprocket, and means for forcing the clutch part into the slots of the sprocket as the arm or lever is raised, substantially as described.

5. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with elevator-tubes, hopper and with suituble gates for closing the bottom of the hopper and spout of the elevator, of mechanism for intermittingly actuating said gates, comprising a trip-shaft normally stationary, operating connections with the gates and with one end of the trip-shaft, a scale-lever having bifurcated ends attached ICC to the hopper and provided with a counterbalancing-weight, a clutch-operatin g part depending from the body of the lever, suitable clutch members of the trip-shaft, intermittingly engaged by the clutch-operating part of the lever, said clutch parts released at predetermined periods to permit the rotation of the trip-shaft, for the purpose specified.

6. In a weigher, the combination with elevator-spout and counterbalanced weigherbucket each having operative valve parts, a trip-shaft, clutch members, one loose on the shaft and the other revoluble with the shaft, a scale-lever carryinga tapered clutch-shipping device intermittingly engaging the clutch part revoluble with the shaft for disengaging it from the clutch part loose on the shaft, for holding it disengaged a predetermined period, substantially as described.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a hopper and a trip-shaft, clutch parts on the trip-shaft adapted to be intermittingly engaged, a scale-lever attached to the hopper and carrying a slidably-arranged weight for causing the lever to disengage the clutch parts after the discharge of the load'and the rise of the hopper to its filling position, and a counterbalancing-weight carried by the lever for the purpose specified, substantially as described.

8. In Weighing apparatus, the combination with an outlet-spout having a control-gate, and the counterbalanced weigher-bucket having a valved bottom, of a tripping-shaft intermittingly actuated provided with operating connections joined to the spout-gate and purpose described.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination with elevator-tubes 1 having an outlet-spout and supporting a weighinghopper, an intermittingly-actuated trip-shaft, and means for controlling the movements thereof, a tally-box supported on the tubes beneath the trip-shaft, an operating-shaft carried parallel with the tubes operated by bevel-gear connection with the trip-shaft, a worm on the lower end of said operating-shaft and a worm-wheel meshing with said worm on the operating-shaft and carried by operative parts of the tally-box, substantially as described.

10. In combination in a weighing apparatus, a trip-shaft intermittingly actuated, a spooket loosely carried thereby and continuonsly driven, a member fixed to the shaft, a longitudinally-movable clutch part retained within said member and arranged to engage open ways in the sprocket, a scale-lever carrying a weight, a clutch-shipping member having connection with the lever movable in a path between the sprocket and clutch part aforesaid in a manner to engage the clutch part, substantially as described.

11. The means for controlling the movements of a trip-shaft of a weigher, comprising atrip-shaft, sprocket 2O loosely carried thereon provided with slots in its body, a clutchbody arranged to engage said sprocket, and provided with a depression in its body, and a swinging member having a predetermined movement for engaging the depression in the clutch-body, substantially as described.

12. The means for controlling the movements of a trip-shaft of a weigher, comprising a trip-shaft, a sprocket loosely carried thereon provided with slots 22, a clutch-body arranged to engage said sprocket, and provided with a depression in its body, a swinging member having a predetermined movement and provided with a tapered body for engaging the depression in the clutch and an oitset 57 of the swinging member, substantially as described.

13. In combination with the herein-described trip-shaft and scale-lever,ofa sprocket loosely carried on said shaft a flanged disk in juxtaposition to said sprocket, a movable member spring-held in said disk for engaging said sprocket arranged with an open-slotted portion, a depending body of the scale-lever arranged to be intermittingly dropped into the path of the movable member to disengage it from the sprocket and an offset of the depending portion of the lever, substantially as described.

1 1-. In combination in a weighing apparatus, a trip-shaft intermittingly actuated, a sprocket loosely carried by the shaft and continuously driven and provided with one or more slots in the hub on its inner face, a member fixed to the shaft having a tubular extension, with an opening through the member coincident with the tubular extension, a slidable pin flexibly held outwardly carried in said extension and opening in the member arranged to engage the slot or slots in the hub of the sprocket, and a scale-lever coacting with said movable pin for normally holding it out of engagement with the sprocket, substantially as described.

15. The means for controlling the movements of a trip-shaft of a weigher, comprising a trip-shaft, a sprocket loosely carried thereon, a lclutch part arranged to engage open Ways in the sprocket, and provided with a depression in its body, a scale-lever having a predetermined movement swinging in the path of the depression in the clutch part, an extension of the lever arranged to be intermittingly seated in the depression of the clutch part, an offset of the extension and means for forcing the clutch part into engagement with the sprocket when released by the lever, substantially as described.

16. The means for controlling the movements of a trip-shaft, comprising a trip-shaft,

a loosely-carried sprocket thereon having depressions in its'body, a fixed member revoluble with the shaft, a sliding device carried in the member for intermittingly engaging the depressions in the sprocket, a scale-lever normally resting on the aforesaid member, means for raising the lever, means for causing the sliding device to be shifted laterally and devices attached to or forming a part of the lever for reversing the movements of the sliding device of the revoluble member While resting on said member, substantially as described.

17. Weighing mechanism, comprising a hopper, a trip-shaft, a scale-lever attached at one end to the hopper and controlling the movements of the trip-shaft by its weightbearing member, an extension of the Weightbearing member, and a counterbalancingweight slidably arranged on said extension, for the purposes set forth.

18. In a grain-Weigher, the combination of parallel feeding-tubes having an outlet-spout controlled by a gate, a hopper suspended beneath the spout and fnlcrumed on a scalelever, a trip-shaft transversely disposed between the tubes, clutch parts of the tripshaft, one loose and the other fixed on said shaft, a scale-lever having operative connection with said clutch parts and norm ally supported by the fixed clutch part and adapted to intermittingly disengage the same from the loose clutch part, substantially for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN M. STEELE.

Witnesses:

-' CHAS. W. LA PORTE WALTER I-I. KIRK. 

